Knox Countians Still Favor Elected Superintendent

By Focus Staff

In this week’s Knoxville Focus poll, likely voters were asked the question, “In your opinion, should the Superintendent of Schools in Knox County be elected by the people of appointed by the School Board?”

Overall, almost 70% favor an elected Superintendent.

The results differed in some districts, but even inside the City of Knoxville there was strong support for an elected Superintendent. In the First District, which is comprised of much of Knoxville’s African-American community, almost 80% of respondents favor an elected Superintendent over an appointed one. The Second District, which is also wholly inside the City of Knoxville’s corporate limits, also registered large numbers in favor of n elected Superintendent with almost 71% preferring elections over appointment by the Board of Education.

The closest numbers occurred inside the Fourth District, which is a West Knoxville district that includes Sequoyah Hills. It was amazingly evenly split with 50% supporting an appointed Superintendent and 50% supporting an elected Superintendent.

The Fifth District, which is the Towne of Farragut, found a bare majority in favor of an elected Superintendent.

The Sixth and Seventh District posted large majorities for an elected Superintendent, as did the Eighth District.

The Ninth District, which is South Knoxville and split between city and county precincts, posted the biggest majority for an elected Superintendent in all of Knox County with a whopping 88% of respondents saying they like elections better than an appointive process.

The results between men and women were almost identical, with slightly more women favoring an elected Superintendent of Schools.